On paper, Judge Downs is a great candidate to replace Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard. Sadly though, the black political establishment will make Downs' campaign against Howard about skin tone and the fact that Howard has a little bit more melanin than Downs does.

Now you'll never see a single television ad, mail piece or flyer that simply says vote for Paul Howard because he's black. But the whisper campaign will be just as powerful as any commercial, as the word goes forth that whites are trying to take political power from the blacks.

I once told a white candidate running for state Representative in a majority black district that her biggest obstacle wasn't money. Her biggest obstacle certainly weren't the issues. The biggest obstacle in her campaign was the fact that she was white and the incumbent was black.